THE SERIES BREAKDOWN

• UIC and Belmont had never met before both schools joined the Missouri Valley Conference in advance of the 2022-23 season.

• While the Bruins have won all four meetings in the abbreviated series with the Flames, two of the matchups were decided by single digits (77-71 on Jan. 4, 2023, in Chicago; 74-65 on Jan. 27, 2024, in Nashville).

• In last year's meeting at the Curb Event Center, UIC took an eight-point lead in the first half and led by three at the break, but a 13-2 run by Belmont midway through the second half provided just enough margin for the Bruins to take the victory. Current senior guard Ethan Pickett was one of three Flames to score in double figures that afternoon, finishing with 11 points.

MORE ON BELMONT

• Belmont (9-5, 1-2 MVC) is the second consecutive UIC opponent to be ranked in the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 poll, checking in at No. 20 this week.

• After winning nine of their first 11 games, the Bruins come into Saturday's matinee having lost three in a row, all against teams currently ranked or receiving votes in the College Insider poll (No. 6 UC Irvine, No. 1 Drake and [RV] Northern Iowa).

• Most recently, Belmont dropped a narrow 76-70 decision at UNI on Wednesday night. The Bruins nearly rallied from a 15-point second-half deficit, closing within three points with 28 seconds left before UNI iced the game at the free throw line.

• Senior forward Jonathan Pierre averages a team-high 13.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game (latter is fourth in the conference), while graduate student guard Carter Whitt adds 11.9 points and a team-high 4.8 assists per game (latter is third in the Valley). Junior guard Tyler Lundblade is also second in the MVC with a .488 three-point percentage, part of a Belmont attack that is shooting .374 from beyond the arc and making 10.5 treys per game.

• Head coach Casey Alexander is in his sixth season at his alma mater with a 127-48 (.726) record. He is also in his 14th year on the sidelines, following prior stops at Stetson and Lipscomb, and owns a career record of 264-168 (.611).

GAME #13 RECAP - DRAKE

• Junior guard Jordan Mason had a team-high 17 points and junior guard Javon Jackson added 16 points, including 9-of-10 free throws in the final six minutes as UIC knocked the nation's top-ranked mid-major program, Drake from the ranks of the unbeaten with a 74-70 New Year's Day victory at Credit Union 1 Arena.

• The Flames extended their winning streak to a season-high five games, with three of the past four featuring comebacks from double-digit deficits.

• Mason connected on 7-of-9 shots, including all five of his second-half attempts, and dished out a team-high five assists, while Jackson added four assists for the Flames. Graduate student guard Tyem Freeman chipped in 15 points, including a career high-tying five three-pointers (3-of-3 in the second half). 

NOTING THE DRAKE GAME

• UIC picks up its second win this season against a team ranked in the top 15 of the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 poll, having also downed No. 13 Yale, 91-79 on Nov. 8 at Credit Union 1 Arena.

• Drake, which has three wins over power conference opponents this season and was one of just four unbeaten teams in the country at tipoff (along with ranked SEC teams Florida, Oklahoma and Tennessee), was second among others receiving votes in the AP Top 25 poll and third among others receiving votes in the NABC/USA Today Top 25 poll this week.

• The Flames earn their first win over Drake since Dec. 4, 2000 (82-73 at Credit Union 1 Arena) and their third victory all-time against the Bulldogs. The last three series matchups (all in Chicago) have been decided by five points or fewer, with the prior two going to overtime.

• UIC's .574 field-goal percentage was its best against a Division I opponent this season, and third-best overall this year.

• The Flames had eight turnovers, their fewest against a Division I foe this year.

• Mason's 17 points were one shy of his season high (18 vs. La Salle on Nov. 22 in Daytona Beach, Fla.). Mason also tied his season high with five assists, a mark he set twice before (most recently in a Dec. 15 overtime win at Little Rock). 

• Freeman tied his career high with five three-pointers, a mark he first set in the Nov. 8 win over Yale.

CIANI IS MVC NEWCOMER OF THE WEEK

• UIC sophomore forward Saša Ciani was named MVC Newcomer of the Week on Monday following his career-high 16 points and nine rebounds in Sunday's Valley win at Illinois State.

• Ciani is the second UIC player to pick up a MVC weekly honor this season. Junior guard Javon Jackson was the Valley's first Player of the Week for the 2024-25 campaign back on Nov. 11.

CHAIRMEN OF THE BOARDS

• Sophomore forward Saša Ciani leads the MVC in rebounding (9.4 rpg.; 21st in NCAA), as well as offensive rebounding (3.58 orpg.; 15th in NCAA) and double-doubles (5).

• As a team, UIC is tops in the Valley in rebounding (38.7 rpg.) and offensive rebounds (12.2 orpg.), as well as second in the MVC in rebound margin (+6.8 rpg.; 44th in NCAA).

• UIC grabbed 21 offensive rebounds in the Dec. 15 win at Little Rock, its highest total on the offensive glass since Jan. 8, 2017, when the Flames had 24 offensive boards in a 58-57 home loss to Oakland.

FILLING IT UP

• Senior forward Filip Škobalj ranks fifth in the MVC with a .469 three-point percentage and has moved up to eighth in school history with 193 career three-pointers made.

• Sophomore guard Ahmad Henderson II continues to lead the MVC and ranks 14th in the nation with a .929 free throw percentage this season.

POTENT NOTABLES

• Entering Saturday's game, UIC has an average opponent NET ranking of 55, which is the highest in the Valley.

• UIC has two wins over teams ranked in the top 15 of the College Insider Mid-Major Top 25 poll at tipoff — No. 1 Drake (Jan. 1) and No. 13 Yale (Nov. 8).

• The Flames currently have a pair of Quad 2 wins under their belt, courtesy of their last two victories (Dec. 29 at Illinois State, Jan. 1 vs. Drake). UIC nearly claimed a Quad 1 win at Northwestern on Nov. 12, falling 83-74 after leading for much of the first half and closing to 74-70 with under 1:20 left before NU salted the game away at the foul line.

• With its Nov. 22 win over La Salle at the Boardwalk Battle, UIC collected its third victory over an Atlantic 10 Conference opponent in the past two seasons, following up last year's victories over Loyola and George Washington.

• UIC has had at least four double-digit scorers in seven games this season. The Flames had a season-high six in their Dec. 20 road win at Seattle U., the  most for UIC in a single game since March 2018.

• UIC has knocked down at least 10 three-pointers in six games this year.

• The Flames have scored at least 80 points five times this season and topped the 90-point mark on four occasions.

• This season marked the first time in the 78-year history of the UIC men's basketball program that it had four 90-point outings in its first six games.

• UIC has shot 45 percent or better in nine games this year, and over 50 percent six times (season-high 60.0 percent on Nov. 16 against Saint Mary's-Minn.).

NEW FACES, NEW PLACES

• There are a lot of new faces in Sparky's camp this season, as UIC welcomes 11 newcomers to its roster, including eight transfers (all from Division I programs).

• Three of those arrivals bring with them playing experience in the NCAA Tournament from their prior stops — Javon Jackson (Utah State), Modestas Kancleris (Creighton) and Joshua Reaves (Mount St. Mary's).

• Among the new arrivals to Chicago's College Team are junior guard Jordan Mason (9.4 ppg. in two years at Texas State), graduate guard Joshua Reaves (7.5 ppg. and a .368 3FG% in four years at Mount St. Mary's), junior guard Javon Jackson (10.5 ppg. in two years at Southern Nazarene and Utah State) and sophomore guard Ahmad Henderson II (11.2 ppg. in one year at Niagara).

• UIC's roster has a distinct international flair with four European student-athletes — senior forward Filip Škobalj (Belgrade, Serbia), Kancleris (Kaunas, Lithuania), sophomore forward Saša Ciani (Nova Gorica, Slovenia) and freshman Iker Garmendia (Barcelona, Spain).

• The last time UIC had four international players on its roster was the 2020-21 season — Škobalj (Serbia), Jamie Ahale (Australia), Marcus Larsson (Norway) and Jalen Warren (Canada).

UP NEXT: MISSOURI STATE

• UIC caps off its two-game MVC road trip (and a stretch of five out of six away from the Windy City) on Tuesday when the Flames travel to Springfield, Mo., for a 7 p.m. (CT) matchup at Missouri State. The game will be televised live on ESPN+ from Great Southern Bank Arena, while fans are encouraged to tune into the free Flames Network broadcast at UICFlames.com with Jonathan Hood on the mic.

• Missouri State (7-7, 0-3 MVC) is in its final season as a Valley member before relocating to Conference USA next year. Like UIC, the Bears are on the road Saturday at Bradley before returning home to face the Flames next week.

• UIC is 4-17 all-time against Missouri State, with the Bears having won all four meetings since the Flames joined the MVC in 2022-23.

THE HOTTEST TICKET IN TOWN

• Tickets for all UIC basketball home games may be purchased online through Ticketmaster or UICFlames.com/Tickets, by contacting the UIC Athletics Ticket Office (312-413-UIC1; athleticsticketing@uic.edu) or visiting the Credit Union 1 Arena box office on game night.

• Fans can also purchase passes for the US Solar Courtside Club at Credit Union 1 Arena through the UIC Athletics Ticket Office or the arena box office.